One Hundred Heartbeats
by PullTogether
Summary: So much can happen in a hundred heartbeats. For us rabbits, that's just a smidge under one minute, though if I'm hyped up on coffee, or excited, or nervous, my heart can easily beat a hundred times in just forty seconds. Like right now, after I stepped out of the Snarlbucks to find a badger holding a gun to my partner's head. (many thanks to mykegreywolf for the cover image)


_So much can happen in a hundred heartbeats. For us rabbits, that's just a smidge under one minute, though if I'm hyped up on coffee, or excited, or nervous, my heart can easily beat a hundred times in just forty seconds._

 _Like right now, after I stepped out of the Snarlbucks to find a badger holding a gun to my partner's head._

 _ **1,228 heartbeats earlier**_

Judy eyed the small paper bag Nick had been carrying around all morning. They were walking to the Snarlbucks around the corner from where they'd parked the cruiser. He noticed her looking at the bag and shifted it to his other paw so she couldn't see it. Judy rolled her eyes. Her partner had arrived late that morning, so he didn't have time to put it in his locker, and he refused to let it out of his sight. Aside from saying it was something for his mom, Judy had no idea what it was.

Even weirder than the mystery bag, Nick had invited her to dinner at Antonio's the next time they had a day off. They'd eaten at the fancy restaurant only once before, when Nick had _finally_ asked her out on their first date, after what practically felt like forever. Before that, there had been years of him teasing and flirting without making a move. The pace of their relationship didn't really pick up after that first date, and remained positively glacial compared to how fast things typically moved with rabbits. Luckily Judy did some research before she gave up on Nick, and she quickly discovered that taking things slow was typical for foxes.

Before the date at Antonio's, they'd spent plenty of time together, though usually it was with a group of other officers. They didn't want to cause issues at work or with their families, so they both agreed it would be prudent to keep their relationship a secret for now. Nick hadn't even told his mom yet, and Judy's parents didn't know either.

Judy was hoping to find out why Nick wanted to take her to Antonio's, but she hadn't been able to pry anything out of him yet. Instead of answering her questions directly, he'd abruptly declared they needed to take a break from their morning patrol and get some coffee. She pondered how she could get him to open up, when it dawned on her what it might be about.

For the past few days, he'd been subtly trying to find out when her lease was up, and she knew he'd soon be looking for a place too. Moving in together would be a big step, and she could see why he'd be nervous.

She was just about to ask him if that's what he wanted to talk about, when they walked through the front door of the Snarlbucks and Nick exclaimed, "Oh, look who it is!" Judy could practically hear the relief in his voice as she followed his gaze to see Fru Fru sitting on a small table atop a much larger one. Next to her stood her polar bear bodyguard, Raymond, his great bulk and tailored dark suit making it impossible for him to be anything but conspicuous in the herd of other mammals in the crowded coffee shop.

"Judy! Nicky! How are my two favorite cops?" The tiny shrew always pronounced the last word like, "caahwps", which never failed to make Judy smile.

After they returned her greeting, the polar bear spoke in a deep rumbly voice. "Raymond will wait in car for you to finish talking to fuzz." Though he rarely spoke, Judy thought it was odd how he always referred to himself in the third person, and aside from his accent indicating he was from Northlund, she really didn't know much about him.

Fru Fru smiled at the bear. "Thanks, Raymond, you're a sweetheart."

After Nick and Judy were seated and the polar bear ambled off, the shrew spoke again. "I have to apologize for Raymond, he still feels uncomfortable around you two. And I just know he's been hopin' all morning to sneak off and read his newspaper.

 _ **1,024 heartbeats later**_

 _Somehow my heart is beating even faster, though the world around me seems to have slowed down._

Judy dropped the coffees and in one smooth movement drew her tranq gun. Nick stood completely motionless, his bag and phone lying on the ground in front of him, and the badger moved so the fox's body would better shield him from Judy.

 _ **985 heartbeats earlier**_

Nick placed the bag he was carrying on the table, being extra careful not to accidentally bump Fru Fru. "I'm surprised to see you outside Little Rodentia."

The shrew smiled. "I'm looking for a wedding gift for Tiffany. You remember her, right Nicky? The daughter of that lion that used to be daddy's, umm, secretary?"

Judy knew better than to ask for the shrew to elaborate on what the lion actually did, since secretary seemed to be the go-to title Fru Fru used when one of Mr. Big's employees had shadier job duties.

Nick nodded. "You know what, I'm gonna go to the little tod's room. I'll be right back."

After Nick walked away, Fru Fru asked, "So, you two an item yet?"

"I… uh, I… I'm not sure what you mean..."

Fru Fru snorted, then spoke again, careful to enunciate each word slowly and a little too loudly. "Are you dating Nicky yet?"

Judy picked up a napkin and played with it nervously, but remained silent. Fru Fru sighed, before she spoke with an impatient voice. "Not talkin' huh?" Her eyes narrowed. "I bet daddy could squeeze it outta you."

They both laughed and Fru Fru glanced at the paper bag Nick had left on the table. "What's Nicky got in there?" Judy was horrified when Fru Fru stood and crawled inside the bag where she began rummaging around.

Seconds later the noises stopped and the shrew said, "Judy. Oh...my...gawd…."

 _ **527 heartbeats later**_

 _It's hard to stay calm while I try to remember the hostage negotiation training from the academy._ _Isolate, contain, control, communicate. Not much I can do about the first three when I'm all by myself, but I can keep him talking and focused on me, until help arrives. Keep him talking, even though it may take awhile for the other officers to get here and in position. I dunno how long that will take, or even if anyone's called it in already._

 _ **495 heartbeats earlier**_

The shrew backed out of the bag, dragging a small velvet box that was open, revealing a small gold ring with a single green stone. "Would ya look at that? It's goooorgeous!"

Judy gawked for a moment, then reached over to close the box, nearly shutting it on the shrew's dress in her haste. She stuffed the box back inside the bag and said, "We shouldn't snoop. It's something for his mom-"

Fru Fru cut her off. "You sure, honey? Because it looked way too small for a fox-" she clamped her mouth shut as Nick approached.

The fox smirked when he found the other two mammals quietly staring at him. "I'm afraid to ask what you both were talking about." He picked up the bag. "Could you please get a coffee for me too, Carrots? Break's almost over, and I need to make a quick phone call." He smiled down at the shrew. "Good to see you again, Fru Fru. Say hi to your dad for me." Nick turned to wink at Judy before he walked away.

They still had plenty of time left on their break, but Judy realized Nick was giving her an easy way out of the conversation with Fru Fru if she wanted it.

Once they were alone again, Fru Fru said, "Come on, spill it. I can hear how your heart goes pitter-patter when he's around."

Judy shrugged. "We've been on a few dates, but that's it. Nothing serious yet." She glanced over and noticed the front counter was empty. "Well, I better get going and grab our coffee before it gets busy. I'm glad we ran into you, Fru Fru."

Paws on her hips and a petulant look on her face, the shrew said, "I know there's more you're not telling me." She kept talking as Judy slowly backed away. "You can't hide the truth from me forever, you know!" Judy simply waved at Fru Fru and turned to leave, but not before she saw the shrew frown and shake her head as she pulled out her tiny phone to call Raymond.

 _ **100 heartbeats later**_

 _My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest. It's taking every ounce of willpower I've got to keep from panicking when I see the badger tighten his grip on the gun, one twitchy digit hovering over the trigger._

Judy finally found her voice. "What's your name?"

The badger looked at her and mumbled something, but she couldn't understand what he'd said.

She tried again. "I just want to talk. I'm here to help."

Judy took a small step towards Nick and his captor, but the badger ducked out of sight behind the fox and shrieked, "Stay back! I can't take it anymore…." he trailed off. "Just… everyone needs to get out of my head."

There was a loud roar behind her, but Judy didn't dare take her eyes off the badger. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blue and white blur.

The look on Nick's face when the gunshot rang out tore through Judy. His eyes were serene, and he'd pursed his lips as if to speak. There was another gunshot, and another, but Judy barely heard them as she leapt forward to where Nick and the badger had already tumbled to the ground.

 _ **518 heartbeats later**_

Even though the polar bear was sitting on the sidewalk next to him, Nick still had to crane his neck to look Raymond in the eye. "There's a large ambulance on the way."

Raymond waved at Nick dismissively and pulled a kerchief from the breast pocket of his suit. The white fabric quickly stained red as the bear used it to staunch the blood flow from the gunshot wound on his shoulder. "No worries, this just tiny scratch for Raymond."

Nick shivered as they watched the screaming badger being loaded into a nearby ambulance. "Glad you only grazed him, but it was enough of a distraction..." He trailed off and looked up at Raymond again. "Thanks, big guy."

The polar bear shook his head. "Raymond is terrible shot... he was aiming for stupid fox cop, not badger."

The tension gushed out of Nick at the bear's joke. He chuckled nervously and ran a paw through the fur on his head. "Admit it, you always had a soft spot for me." He was silent for a moment, before adding, "I really owe you one. How can I ever repay you?"

The polar bear shrugged. "Maybe you buy Raymond new suit?" He glanced over at Judy, who was speaking to officer Fangmeyer. "Also maybe fox stop being so dumb and talk to partner now, yes?"

Nick looked at Judy and nodded. "Yeah." He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling. "Yeah, I should."

Just as he started walking towards her, Judy glanced his way before she turned to briskly walk in the direction of their parked cruiser. Nick hurried after her, simply nodding at Fangmeyer as he rushed to catch up to Judy.

He caught up with her after they turned the corner. "Hey, Carrots, wait up. I realize you were pretty distracted when you dropped our coffee, but we need..."

He trailed off when she turned to look at him. Tears welled in her eyes. She took two wobbly steps and leapt into his arms. They gripped each other tightly and she began to weep.

They held each other quietly for a few minutes, before Nick said in a shaky voice, "I… I'm glad you're ok too, Judy."

* * *

Finnick almost dropped his beer when Nick mentioned that he'd proposed to Judy the previous evening, while they were walking along the boardwalk after eating dinner at Antonio's. The diminutive fox stood there for several moments, mouth agape, before he finally said, "I thought you wuz just gonna ask her to shack up-"

Nick interrupted him. "Yeah, I was. Until I got a reminder how short life is, and dumb foxes can die alone if they're not careful."

 _My mom seemed awfully nonchalant when I told her I was going to ask Judy to marry me, and she gave me her old engagement ring, the same one I'd picked up for her from the jewelers that day. Funny how it already fit when Judy tried it on. I guess realizing just how much Carrots meant to me even before I did isn't the only thing my mom figured out somehow._

 _I'll never forget the look on Judy's face when she heard that first shot from Raymond's gun. And I'll never forget the look of relief when she realized I was ok, or how hard it was for her to stay professional when the other officers showed up. And as my life flashed before my eyes, I'll never forget how much regret I felt at that moment, when I thought I might die. Time really is precious, and I'm so lucky I can spend it with someone like Judy._

 _So many things I'll never forget, for as long as this ol' ticker of mine holds out._


End file.
